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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. prune — to trim
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a music group
  6. wax — to grow
  7. mug — a face
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. track — a path
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wake — a trail
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. track — to keep track
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. track — a song
  18. mug — a cup

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com